DateTime.ToShortDateString Method
Definition
Important
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Converts the value of the current DateTime object to its equivalent short date string representation.
public:
System::String ^ ToShortDateString();public string ToShortDateString ();member this.ToShortDateString : unit -> stringPublic Function ToShortDateString () As StringReturns
A string that contains the short date string representation of the current DateTime object.
Examples
The following example demonstrates the ToShortDateString method. It also shows that the result of calling the ToShortDateString method is identical to calling the DateTime.ToString(String) method with "d" as the format parameter.
using System;
using System.Globalization;
using System.Threading;
public class Example
{
public static void Main()
{
DateTime dateToDisplay = new DateTime(2009, 6, 1, 8, 42, 50);
CultureInfo originalCulture = Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture;
// Change culture to en-US.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:",
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name);
Console.WriteLine(" {0} (Short Date String)",
dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString());
// Display using 'd' standard format specifier to illustrate it is
// identical to the string returned by ToShortDateString.
Console.WriteLine(" {0} ('d' standard format specifier)",
dateToDisplay.ToString("d"));
Console.WriteLine();
// Change culture to fr-FR.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("fr-FR");
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:",
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name);
Console.WriteLine(" {0}", dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString());
Console.WriteLine();
// Change culture to nl-NL.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("nl-NL");
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:",
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name);
Console.WriteLine(" {0}", dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString());
// Restore original culture.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = originalCulture;
}
}
// The example displays the following output:
// Displaying short date for en-US culture:
// 6/1/2009 (Short Date String)
// 6/1/2009 ('d' standard format specifier)
//
// Displaying short date for fr-FR culture:
// 01/06/2009
//
// Displaying short date for nl-NL culture:
// 1-6-2009
open System
open System.Globalization
open System.Threading
let dateToDisplay = DateTime(2009, 6, 1, 8, 42, 50)
let originalCulture = Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture
// Change culture to en-US.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo "en-US"
printfn "Displaying short date for {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} culture:"
printfn $" {dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString()} (Short Date String)"
// Display using 'd' standard format specifier to illustrate it is
// identical to the string returned by ToShortDateString.
printfn $" {dateToDisplay:d} ('d' standard format specifier)\n"
// Change culture to fr-FR.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo "fr-FR"
printfn $"Displaying short date for {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} culture:"
printfn $" {dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString()}\n"
// Change culture to nl-NL.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- CultureInfo "nl-NL"
printfn $"Displaying short date for {Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name} culture:"
printfn $" {dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString()}"
// Restore original culture.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture <- originalCulture
// The example displays the following output:
// Displaying short date for en-US culture:
// 6/1/2009 (Short Date String)
// 6/1/2009 ('d' standard format specifier)
//
// Displaying short date for fr-FR culture:
// 01/06/2009
//
// Displaying short date for nl-NL culture:
// 1-6-2009
Imports System.Globalization
Imports System.Threading
Module Example
Public Sub Main()
Dim dateToDisplay As Date = #06/01/2009 8:42:50#
Dim originalCulture As CultureInfo = Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture
' Change culture to en-US.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = New CultureInfo("en-US")
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:", _
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name)
Console.WriteLine(" {0} (Short Date String)", _
dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString())
' Display using 'd' standard format specifier to illustrate it is
' identical to the string returned by ToShortDateString.
Console.WriteLine(" {0} ('d' standard format specifier)", _
dateToDisplay.ToString("d"))
Console.WriteLine()
' Change culture to fr-FR.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = New CultureInfo("fr-FR")
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:", _
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name)
Console.WriteLine(" {0}", dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString())
Console.WriteLine()
' Change culture to nl-NL.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = New CultureInfo("nl-NL")
Console.WriteLine("Displaying short date for {0} culture:", _
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture.Name)
Console.WriteLine(" {0}", dateToDisplay.ToShortDateString())
' Restore original culture.
Thread.CurrentThread.CurrentCulture = originalCulture
End Sub
End Module
' The example displays the following output:
' Displaying short date for en-US culture:
' 6/1/2009 (Short Date String)
' 6/1/2009 ('d' standard format specifier)
'
' Displaying short date for fr-FR culture:
' 01/06/2009
'
' Displaying short date for nl-NL culture:
' 1-6-2009
Remarks
The value of the current DateTime object is formatted using the pattern defined by the DateTimeFormatInfo.ShortDatePattern property associated with the current culture. The return value is identical to the value returned by specifying the "d" standard DateTime format string with the ToString(String) method.
Note
The string returned by the ToShortDateString method is culture-sensitive. It reflects the pattern defined by the current culture's DateTimeFormatInfo.ShortDatePattern property. For example, for the en-US culture, the standard short date pattern is "M/d/yyyy"; for the de-DE culture, it is "dd.MM.yyyy"; for the ja-JP culture, it is "yyyy/MM/dd". Note that its value can vary depending on the .NET implementation and its version, the operating system and its version, and user customization.
For more information about the current thread culture, see the CultureInfo.CurrentCulture and Thread.CurrentCulture properties. For more information about format characters, format patterns, and the output they produce, see Standard date and time format strings and Custom date and time format strings. For more information about changing the format pattern associated with a format character, see the DateTimeFormatInfo class.
